


Palliation

by Silmerion



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Friendship, Gen, Implied Neptune/Scarlet, what if Sun were.............sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 07:12:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13875831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmerion/pseuds/Silmerion
Summary: Sun would go to any length for his friends. Blake just wishes he'd let them do the same.





	Palliation

“You ought to talk to them for once.”

Sun rolled his eyes, slinging his loose arm across the back of the café booth. “Blake, you know I don’t think it’s gotta be their business.” He’d emptied his cup a half dozen topics ago, but he mimed a sip anyway to buy time. “It’s not their fault Mistral’s bureaucracy is full of assholes.”

“ _Racists,_ Sun. At least call them what they are.”

 _Shoulda just kept my mouth shut,_ Sun reflected grimly. Lectures followed Blake like tracks followed a Goliath - as the reigning leader of the White Fang, it was often literally her job. He resigned himself to the next ten-odd minutes. “Same diff, dude. Doesn’t change - ”

“ _No,_ Sun, it really does.” Blake furrowed her brow, scrutinizing her tea. “You’re not dealing with some one-off jerk here. It’s a new slight every time I visit. And your struggles with the Hunters' Guild in Mistral are hardly unique among faunus. The White Fang is working on it and the kingdom _has_ made progress, but what you’re experiencing right now is systemic.”

“Now hold on, that’s a little much - ”

“Sun. Please don’t talk to me like I haven’t seen the statistics. We _collect -_ ”

“ - the statistics, yeah. I know. Got it.” For someone who lavished in her reservedness, Blake was relentless when armed with a fair point. Sun knew she wouldn’t climb out of this hole until she thought she was dragging him out, too. He sometimes wondered if she saw herself as returning the favor.

 _That was one time, years ago, and her_ whole team  _is busybodies. Quit tooting your own horn._ “All right, so it’s a bunch of assholes throwing stones. So what? I’m Sun Wukong, thickest skull in the kingdoms. They couldn’t beat me back if they tried.”

Sun got the reaction he was fishing for - Blake never could take his bravado seriously, and a pleasant huff fought its way through her fretfulness. But the reprieve didn’t last. “Hey now. Even the thickest skull won’t save you from a headache. And I don’t want you hurting if we can avoid it. You’re doing this the hard way.”

Sun shrugged. “I’m good at the hard way.”

“You wouldn’t accept that from us and you know it.”

A crowded island, a friend’s horror, a war of insistent pleas. Sun shook his head to banish the echoes. “I still don’t see what it’s gotta do with the rest of SSSN.”

“They’re your _team_. You know they know people. You all could have this sorted next week if you wanted to.”

“Well yeah, but like, why should it _matter_ to them, y’know?” Sun gestured helplessly, praying Blake actually did know and this conversation could end soon. “They’ve got their own problems. Sage is back home dealing with funeral shit. And Scarlet and Neptune are still figuring it out between the two of ‘em. So I’ve got this.” Silence. Blake could wait all day if she had to. “Like, okay, they _would_ help if I asked - "

“Yes, they would.”

“ - but it’s their _job_. I’m trying to be considerate, give ‘em space.”

“I hardly know where to start with that. Would you ask them if things were easier right now?” Sun suddenly couldn’t keep eye contact. “I thought not. Sun, you’re one of the most considerate people I know. But consideration can be its own kind of self-indulgence. When I fled to Menagerie after the Fall, I told myself I was doing it - _had_ to do it for my friends. But we both know who I was really doing it for.”

Chagrin tempered itself into frustration. “Well, what’s wrong with that, huh? What’s wrong with Big Softie Sun wanting to be a little selfish for once?”

“ _Gods_ , I wish you actually meant that threat,” Blake steamed. She folded her arms, then sighed, scattering her next rebuke. “There’s more than one way to be selfish. For as long as I can remember, you’ve been dead set on giving without getting in return. I think everyone who knows you wishes you’d ask them for more.”

Sun scoffed. “I’m not really that great.”

“Not up for debate right now.”

“Fine.” _Not like anyone would change minds today, anyway_. He ran a hand through his hair, racking his brain for the right brand of earnest. “I just...I’m so lucky to have any of you. All of you. I don’t need anything in return because I’m already _getting_ it.” His other hand sought out the cup again, grasping for another distraction.

Blake laid her own hand atop his, eyes softer now. “You’re not a burden, Sun. You never have been.”

Silence. Sun could wait all day if he had to.

“Promise me you’ll ask them. At least ask Neptune. He’s your partner.”

Blake was right, of course. She usually was.

But Sun couldn’t make promises. “I will,” he smiled. Blake’s return smile was yielding, clement _._


End file.
